Ron Rivera will keep 4-3 defense in Carolina

1. Rivera says the team will keep a 4-3 defense. One of Rivera’s attractive qualities is that he’s coached a 4-3 and a 3-4 defense. He says the talent in Carolina is built for a 4-3 and he will have an “attacking” style like some of his mentors Buddy Ryan and Jim Johnson. (As opposed to, say, Lovie Smith.)

2. For the most part, Rivera lauded the Panthers roster. He liked the offensive line. He said he wanted to meet Steve Smith soon and was impressed by rookie wideouts David Gettis and Brandon LaFell.

Rivera sounded lukewarm on quarterback Jimmy Clausen, though. That should make Panthers fans smile. Quarterback has to still be in play for the No. 1 overall pick.

3. Rivera will get help from G.M. Marty Hurney filling out his staff. Chargers tight end coach Rob Chudzinski and Marc Trestman have been mentioned as possibilities for the offensive coordinator job, but no one from the team will confirm that.

4. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson said Rivera’s background as a player helped him get the job. Richardson is the only owner that was also a player in the NFL.

So he plans to adjust his schemes to fit his player and not shoehorn 4-3 players into something they don’t fit? That’s so effing stupid…

I bet he doesn’t know how to get the most out of his QB anyhow like I do. Maybe I should gift him a draft pick or two like I did my buddy Andy. I’ll give you 2 Picks, A. Armstrong and Malcolm Kelly for Steve Smith. Imagine Smith teamed up with Roydell…

He likes LaFell and Gettis and is lukewarm on Clausen??? I am SOOOO sorry Panther’s fans. You’ve hired an idiot. Did he NOT watch any Panther’s games? If Gettis or Lafell could catch, Clausen would’ve looked like a rookie with promise rather than just a rookie.
They had 3 QB’s start a game and their ratings are 48, 55 and 58 (Clausen)…makes one think that the receivers had a little to do with it…

@razsan You’re retarded..You obviously haven’t watched many panthers games, or just don’t know much about football…. Gettis is a great WR and in a few years I could see him being a top 15 WR in this league. LaFell didn’t get many looks and I really can’t tell about him, but Gettis DEFINITELY has potential, and made catches when he needed to.

razsan…it could also just mean that they had three awful quarterbacks…

anyway, if quarterback is in play for the first overall pick, then they’re making a HUGE mistake because there are no quarterbacks this year who should even be close to being taken that high. i think clausen (and simultaneously rivera) get a pass this year on that one. i can’t see any way they can or will pass up nick fairley.

@razsan, receivers didn’t have anything to do with it. Being the most predictable offense in football history had everything to do with it.

Having John Fox and Davidson running the offense is what killed Jimmy’s perception. Davidson was the O Line coach in Cleveland. Fox knows nothing about offense. All these years they talked about “Fox football”. A pop warner coach could game planned better than “Fox football”. The only reason he has had any success at all is because he got lucky with the talent of DeAngelo, and Steve.

No caleb you are retarded and missed all the dropped passes in critical situations by your boys Gettis and Lefell. Clausen was by no means perfect but I saw more than one game where your superhuman receivers dropped 3rd down conversions, ran wrong routes and played exactly like rookies. They have potential but they sucked this year. How you can forgive them and not give Clausen a break is beyond dumb.

@flyers…you hit the nail on the head on giving Clausen a pass and that their aren’t any surefire studs in the draft this year. Clausen was terrible in his first year at Notre Dame..finally got some receiving help, learned the game and finished with a 68% completion, 28 TD’s and 4 picks as a junior. Remember, the kid would’ve been a college senior this year. Give him a chance and fix the rest of your broken team..

@Patm I have to admit, the playcalling was downright painful at times. You have to give your QB a chance to play to his strength and it seemed like no matter what, they ran the same scheme. Clausen almost always seemed like he was in a 3rd and long. That’s tough for any QB let alone a rookie.

How do you know what routes they were supposed to run? I think you are Jimmy Clausen, I mean atleast you sound like him throwing your receivers under the bus… again. Clausen is a project, he needs a “mentor”, I do wish the Bills would have taken him in the draft, to sit behind Fitz for a few years instead of Brohm. Also those ratings you posted, they don’t solely come out of completion percentage. There’s YPA, TD’s, INT’s Yards, Attempts, Completions, etc. that go into that rating, so blaming it soley on recievers is idiocy. Also I like Gettis as well, to be honest I think they should ship SS and take A.J. Green. There is no reason to hold onto a guy fading out of his prime for a team that is re-building. It’s not fair to the player, or the team. So Please Razsan I would like to hear what you have to say “@” my point…

Clausen actually regressed from his time with Weis. I don’t think he was as “good” as Quinn in college (and I am far from a fan of either QB…. in fact I dislike them both in all ways), but if you watched both of them @ ND then in Cle/Car they regressed. Weis made ’em both the money but neither had the coaching in the NFL that they did with Weis. They have an NFL QB coach in common, a guy who’s a good dude and means well but hasn’t ever helped ANY QB get better. Clausen was so mechanical as a rookie. It’s obvious to me he was thinking too much. Even other rookies don’t drop back every other pass and throw the ball out of bounds on the regular like he did.
I think Carolina should find somewhere to trade SS if they want to develop a young QB. I saw it with Brady… a yappy “I WANT THE BALL” WR doesn’t help a QB in the long run. Even a veteran elite QB like Brady got too tunnel visioned wanting to keep Moss happy. How could that NOT affect a young green QB? Especially as we know SS has taken public shots @ Clausen.

@RabidBills…After QB the most difficult skill positions to play is WR in the NFL. The biggest problem you see is these guys who are used to beating college scrubs.. struggling to make space against just about any corner. Rarely do you see a stud WR make an impact his rookie year let alone a 3rd and 6th rounder. Now take 2 of them and force them to be starters with a rookie QB and you have a nightmare. Gettis is definitely a keeper and LaFell looks like a player also, my complaint isn’t with them. It’s the blaming of Clausen for his inefficiency. I actually think you’ll see an improved offense if they can just stay healthy and get a year together.

Finally a coach that gets “it”. I grow so tired of these coaches that come in and force a 3-4 on a team that has 4-3 personnel. Yes Buffalo and Washington I am talking about you. Teams with respectable defenses a year ago, now are towards the bottom in the league. OUCH! Congrats on Rivera understanding that.